Chinese Medicine Approach to Cancer

Soil or Seed

From the Chinese medicine viewpoint, which draws much of its insight from natural processes, cancer cells and tumors can be viewed as a seed, while the body can be viewed as the soil. A body which has an imbalance of yin and yang provides good soil for the growth of cancer seeds. A body with balanced yin and yang is bad soil for the growth of cancer seeds.

What are some of the conditions or predispositions which provide “good soil” for cancer seeds? The basic internal cause of yin/yang imbalance is deficiency of qi, deficiency of blood, deficiency of yin, and/or deficiency of yang. I am simplifying here, but when deficiencies exist for a long time in the body, normal circulation of Qi and blood is slowed down to the point where the body’s fundamental substances become stuck in various tissues, leading to pain and heat. In this case, a deficiency condition has now become an excess condition. The primary excess conditions associated with tumors and cancer are blood stagnation, phlegm congestion, and heat accumulation. In addition to internal deficiencies which generate internal excess conditions, the body can also be attacked from the outside, by external pathogens. External pathogens can be environmental conditions such as heat, cold, or dampness. They can also be toxic substances such as snake venom or toxic chemicals. When an external pathogen is introduced into the body, it can attack the body and become lodged in tissues and organs.

So over a period of years, a person could start with a simple Qi deficiency, progress to a condition of internal stagnation, and then be exposed to a toxic substance. Now we have a body which has gradually become very out of balance, and which therefore provides good soil for the growth and development of a cancer seed.

As for treatment, modern Western medicine specializes in treatments which target the “cancer seed,” like chemotherapy and targeted radio-therapy. In contrast, traditional Chinese medicine specializes in treating the “soil.” It is a well-known fact that our bodies often produce cancerous cells, but most people will not go on to develop cancer. The Western biomedical explanation for this is that our immunological system kills the mutated cancer cells. TCM theory explains it by saying that this soil – this body – is not suitable for cancer seed growth. In clinical practice, Chinese medicine focuses on treating the disease-causing syndrome, or pattern. If this treatment is successful, TCM practitioners say that the soil has been changed, and the patient will be able to “carry cancer to his age,” meaning that the cancer seed is still there, but will not progress or metastasize, allowing the patient to live out his natural life.

Over time, Chinese medicine developed powerful methods of addressing the principal pathogenic patterns of cancer, which are: Qi stagnation with blood stasis; phlegm congestion; and toxic heat retention. Using acupuncture, herbal formulas, and dietary therapy, practitioners could relieve cancer symptoms and improve patients’ quality of life. 

From Dr. Changzhen Gong's keynote speech to the Intercultural Collegiate Cancer Conference: Understanding Health Disparities and Making Connections on March 21, 2014.